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Day 1: Gingerbread Cookies

Well, we made it through the 1st day…Any type of cut-out cookies has never been my specialty, which is why I thought starting off with them would be a good challenge. Plus, we’ve never made gingerbread dough before, so that was a first. The dough made alot of cookies (roughly 70). We learned after the first batch, they do not require the 13-15 minutes of cooking time, more like 10. The taste was a midle gingerbread, just enough without being overpowering of ginger and molasses. As for the frosting, we opted for a simple powdered sugar recipe that included corn syrup, milk and vanilla. It came out very runny and now we will consider using a Royal Icing Recipe in the future for a more cleaner and professional look.

Spoon Royal Icing into a small zip-top plastic freezer bag. Snip 1 corner of bag to make a small hole; pipe faces on cookies, or spread cookies with Buttermilk Frosting. Decorate cookies as desired with candies and sugar crystals.

Ingredients

1 (16-oz.) package powdered sugar

3 tablespoons meringue powder

6 to 8 Tablespoons warm water

Preparation

Beat first 2 ingredients and 6 Tbsp. water at low speed with an electric mixer until blended. Beat at high speed 4 minutes or until stiff peaks form. Add up to 2 Tbsp. additional water, 1/4 tsp. at a time, until desired consistency is reached. Print (recipe)

Note:*Use less water for a stiff icing perfect for attaching cookies to cake stands. Use more water for thinner icing suitable for piping delicate designs on cookies.*You can freeze the gingerbread batter up to a month before a party. Freeze in zip-top plastic bags.